profWacko

dlaing, Thanks for the update, and keep me posted on the V50 parts. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

dlaing, I did not intend to overlook any major dude-ism on your part. I was just trying to express my thanks for nailing my problem. Now about those oil & air filters and brake pads, if they will indeed fit a V50 I will definitely take them off of your hands. Please contact me off list to persue this further. profwacko@v11lemans.com Does it really take that special tool they show in the service manual to remove the piston from the master cylinder? How do you get it out? ADVthanksANCE Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

Mr. Philmac, sir! You are the Dude! I was planning on checking into the points sooner or later, but your suggestion made me check it out sooner. I discovered a totally seized advance mechanism, just like you described, which I cleaned up and got moving again. I also discovered that my bike has a full Dyna ignition conversion! After all of this, it runs far better than before. Now, the lack of braking power is becoming a concern because the bike goes a lot faster now. >8] I guess I'll have to get it registered and insured now because it is just too much fun to ride. Thanks again for the benefit of your experience. Ride safe. Ride well. -Jack Price 02 V11 Le Mans (coming up on 37k miles now) 01 KTM Duke II (coming up on 7k miles now) 83 V50 III (just over 2500 miles, still a baby)

I guess we will find out together if the V50's are more reliable or not. A friend of mine who recently moved away gave me a V50 III he had acquired and could not take with him. It had been sitting for at least 10 years, so it needed a lot of things fixed up. So far, I have managed to get the fuel system pretty well sorted out, as it now starts easily and runs pretty well. The brakes are next. I have only taken one caliper apart so far (the right front) and it was pretty badly stuck. I think I am going to build some brake lines to de-link the brakes and then replace all of the pads. I have ridden it around the block a few times and found it to be a fun little ride, as long as you are not in any kind of a hurry. The acceleration (even in 1st gear) can be described as glacial. Still, it rides really nice and steers very lightly and seems very stable. Fortunately, it is also fun to work on because it looks like I will be getting to do a lot of that. Phlegm at Eleven. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

Are you the same Roger that totalled his green V11 at the Ramona Rally in October? If so, how's your shoulder? In either case, Howdy and welcome to the list. I am the guy with the red/grey V11 Le Mans. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans (36k miles now) 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

If you are talking about that reflector thingy that sits directly in front of the headlight bulb, MGNA replaced mine under warranty when it broke. My dealer tells me that mine was not the first one that they had changed. Seems to be a recurrent failure on the V11 Le Mans series. Anybody out there with a V11 Sport had one fail yet? -jp

I would be interested in taking those now unnecessary headlight brackets off of your hands, if you are willing to sell them. Contact me off-list at jprice@hlpnet.net ADVthanksANCE Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

I have nothing but positive experiences with Ken's shop. I have bought several items from him for the Ducati's I used to own, and his guy Quentin Wilson did the fork service on my bike. I do not believe that they are the cheapest shop to be found, but I believe that they provide excellent value for the goods and services they offer. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

Ok, Lex. What's the story now that three weeks have gone by? Inquiring minds want to KNOW! Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

I originally spoke with them in March 02 to arrange an order. At that time, they said that due to some problem at the Ohlins factory having to do with a huge order from an un-named factory (Guzzi?) I could expect delivery in September. I said that I would persue alternatives to solve my suspension needs, and thanked them for the information. I checked into getting the same Ohlins shock from other suppliers and was told basically the same thing: there was just no way I was going to get one in any kind of reasonable time frame. About a month later, they sent me an email and said that they could get me one for an August delivery, and I elected to proceed with the order, and I got in about the middle of August. I am fairly certain that this is a 'grey market' item that I have, but so far - so good. That really loud knocking sound you hear is me knocking on my wooden desktop. If you can get the fully realized Penske with the hydraulic preload adjuster and high and low speed adjustability for rebound and compression for $750, I would say "DO IT! DO IT NOW!!" When I was pricing alternatives, I was getting quotes around $1100 for the Penske with all of the options. HTH Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

Has anybody seen one of these that might be compatible with our H-4 bulbs? It is starting to bug me that my Duke II has far better headlights than my Le Mans. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

I got my Ohlins from Mr. Ed's Moto (mredsmoto.com). It took a really long time to get it, but it was really worth it. Judging from what I have read about the stock Ohlins setup on a Scura, the shock I got must be setup very differently. It also has the hydraulic preload adjuster. It cost me $750 delivered to my door with a spring rate chosen by Ohlins for my bike and weight. When I first bolted it in place with the preload adjuster all the way off, it had 10mm static sag, which is exactly the measurement stated in the setup guide that came with the shock. Meesathinkin I have the right spring rate back there. Ken at evoluzione recommended the .95 kg/mm fork springs for my 190 lbs with gear. Also judging from what Lex said above, I might want to go to slightly thinner fork oil because my bike seems to like having the compression damping adjuster set on the absolute minimum, and only slightly more rebound. Phlegm at Eleven. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

I just got my bike back from evoluzione, where Quentin Wilson did a major service and spring change on my forks. If any of you out there are wondering how your bike would feel with the correct springs for your actual weight, let me answer that question for you: IT IS SO MUCH BETTER YOU JUST WILL NOT BELIEVE IT!! Now, I know that my forks needed some attention after 20k miles or so on the last fork service, but getting the right spring rate and the correct spacers to set the sag to where it should be has absolutely transformed the ride and handling of my bike. And what's really remarkable is that it was pretty good before, or so I thought. It now tracks really well even over bumpy turns, and just overall feels far more secure. I am sure that the Ohlins shock in the back helps quite a bit as well. But the difference in the before and after on the spring change was really a huge improvement, and not really very expensive. You can contact them at evoluzione.net Ken has a Tenni, so there may be some good things in the works for the future from them. This is not intended to be a commercial for them, as I have not received any special consideration from his shop, other than the really excellent service about which I am reporting here. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

L&L charges $200 for the custom mapping. They charge $100 for any subsequent mapping the future mods might require. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

Just had my V11 Le Mans mapped by L&L Dyno Services on Sunday to complement the Stucchi x-over, Mistrals, and Amsoil 2-stage foam air filter element. Ups: Feels like he added another cylinder down there! The response is INSTANT to any nudge on the throttle. Man, oh man, does this thing fly now. It was pretty fast before, but now, WOW! Downs: I now have the dreaded stalls-at-idle-occasionally syndrome, where it never did that before with the previous map. I think I will be splicing the lower-rpm, lower-throttle settings map points from my old map after I tell Louie about it. Also, it pings just about as bad as it ever had in the past between 4500-4800rpm, which is actually a narrower range than before. Again, maybe more map tweaking will alleviate this condition, although I would be willing to bet that it will not ping on race gas, which means that this is a timing-VS-fuel-quality issue rather than a fuel mixture issue now. Overall, I would definitely do it again. If you have a PC III with a downloaded map, you are only getting about half of the benefit of this amazingly useful device. One ride on my bike would convince even the most jaded of you out there. Y'all know who y'all are. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

I suppose I should count my blessings because my bike has only hot-stalled a couple of times, and that was only on the first weekend of owning it. After it loosened up a little, it never did it again. It does still ping a lot though, between 4500 and 5500 rpm, and under certain conditions of load, it will also ping in the 7000 range. It is this pinging that really makes me nervous about how long the engine could tolerate this condition. With only 7 months of warranty left, I would really like to get this issue addressed. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III

If the dealer is using the software from Moto Guzzi, then the only adjustment they can make to the ECU settings is the injector pulse width trim, which only affects a limited rpm range. My bike has always pinged, even when completely stock. It now pings under sudden throttle application between 4500 and 5500 rpm in any gear. With the mods I have done (Stucchi crossover, Mistrals, PC III w/Todd Egan map tweaks, Amsoil 2-stage foam airfilter) it has so much more midrange response that the pinging is easier to manage. A custom map is my next update, right after a new set of Dunlop 220's. The current set has about 9500 miles on them, and they do not owe me much. What is the setup on your V11? -Jack Price

Lex, I am fairly confident the we are both right about the differences between the OEM Ohlins on a Scura and the one I got from Mr. Ed's: The differences are very likely limited to the internal parts selection. Apparently, Guzzi has specified an extremely stiff compression damping setup, or perhaps just took whatever Ohlins gave them. Only they know for sure, and they are not likely to tell. Al, I have talked to a few extremely satisfied customers of Lindeman's work. His explanation seems to agree with my observations of my fork performance. Because of the stiff setup, it is difficult to get the fork to move easily. Mine seems to have a ton of stiction such that while sitting on the bike, if I pull up on the bars to extend the front suspension, when I let go it does NOT return to its previous position. It just compresses a very small amount and sits at its new higher spot. If I push down on the bars, it compresses and then rebounds to almost the normal static height. Like I said, I cannot wait to get something done about the forks, now that my shock works so great. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price 02 V11 Le Mans (just passed Kelly Baker's V11) >8P 01 KTM Duke II (wanna talk about suspension compliance?) 83 V50 III (will be running soon)

I saw a similar setup on my friend's V11 Sport. Unfortunately, I need taller risers to do the same thing to my Le Mans. Anybody have any suggestions for them? Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II

Please keep in mind that the Ohlins shock that Cycle World complained about that comes on a Scura could not possibly be the same as the aftermarket one I got from Mr' Ed's Moto. As soon as I installed it, the difference in ride quality was instantly apparent, being far more compliant and supple. I cannot wait to try Ken's fork upgrades. I will post the results when I get it done. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II

Pictures. There must be pictures... Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II

From my observations of many V11's, both Sports, Scura's and Le Mans, they are all asymetrical regarding the orientation of the muffler/pillion footrest mounts. When I put a set of carbon round Mistral's on a friend's 2001 V11 Sport, I was surprised at how symetrical the finished bike looked from the rear. Apparently, the way the muffler pipes were bent caused the right muffler to be angled in just slightly more than the left one, which resulted in the increased left/right visual balance. This is just my observation. YMMV, and all that... Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans (33k plus now) 01 KTM Duke II

Anybody tried these yet? http://www.cliponrisers.com/ I am thinking I might try these on my Le Mans with a set of V11 Sport clipon brackets that I have. Hmmmmmm... Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans

mcloutier, Would you care to share your map with other PCIII users? I would like to try your pinging solution. I was at the San Diego Rally and Todd Eagan made a composite map for me based on some of my observations of using 2 of the available maps from DynoJet. He also made a modification to the map that he had previously used on a different bike to kill off the pinging. On my bike, this mod drastically reduced the pinging between 4500 and 5500 rpm, but the engine feels a little down on power in that range now, probably because it is way too rich there now. Overall, my bike runs really well with a really smooth power delivery, but feels a little flat in the range where it was pinging before. I believe that this is because persuing this problem with the PCIII means that we are throwing fuel at a potential timing problem. Any thoughts from anyone out there who really knows something about all of this? Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price 02 V11 Le Mans (nearly 31k miles now)

After I bought the really-trick 3/8 drive socket for removing the oil filter cover ($27), I read somewhere that the spark plug wrench that comes in your Moto Guzzi toolkit works as a cover remover tool. I have not tried this, but this is what I read. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans (14 months, nearly 29k miles)